It’s May, and Michael Bridge already passed 50 concerts this year. “Dr. Accordion” performed in 20 schools in Toronto (and one in Chicago), through which about 4,000 students were introduced to the wonders of digital accordion—from Bach’s Toccata in D minor to the Mario Brothers theme song.
Bridge & Wolak visited Regina, SK and Yellowknife, NWT for week-long residencies and performances of their main touring productions: Scandalous Romantics and Bach to Benny Goodman. You’ll hear Scandalous Romantics at the 2025 ATG Festival—on Saturday night.
They also performed at the “Snowcastle”—an elaborate castle made of ice and snow with a second floor and a “concert hall,” built each winter on Great Slave Lake in Northern Canada. An audience of 100 people braved sub-zero temperatures to hear Bridge & Wolak’s 25-minute set. There was a heater blowing at the stage, but it can’t be turned on very much—otherwise the roof melts.
In classical performances, Michael joined Esprit Orchestra (Canada’s only full-size orchestra dedicated to contemporary music) for the Canadian Premiere of Unsuk Chin’s ‘Ritus des Herzschlags’—a 20-minute new orchestral work by a world-leading composer with a notable accordion role in the orchestra (mostly fast bellows shakes decaying from shocking and unpredictable loud percussion hits). He also co-arranged Viacheslav Semionov’s well-known Bulgarian Suite for 26-piece brass orchestra with accordion soloist, to be premiered shortly with the Hannaford Silver Band in Toronto.
Michael Bridge – ProfiIe
He visited Chicago at the conclusion of Bridge & Wolak’s spring midwestern tour, and joined Prof. Joan Sommers for a panel discussion on “Building Community Through Music” and gave a solo concert at Harper College, Chicago. He happily continues to work on building community with Mary Ann Covone, and teaches a regular group lesson to a new cohort of chromatic/free-bass accordionists at the Chicagoland Accordion Academy.
Coming up, Michael’s quartet, Ladom Ensemble, released their third studio album, “Sofreh-Tisch”, digitally on May 30, 2025—focusing on Persian- and Ashkenazi-influenced music for accordion, piano, cello and hand percussion. Summer tours include weeks in Edmonton, Ottawa, and Chicago for the 2025 ATG festival.
Future 2025 performances include:
TORONTO, ON
June 2, 2025
Ladom Ensemble Launch @ Lula Lounge
EDMONTON, AB
June 19, 7:30pm
@ The Yardbird, part of Edmonton Summer Solstice Festival
EDMONTON, AB
June 20, 7:30pm
@ Trinity Lutheran Church, part of Edmonton Summer Solstice Festival
EDMONTON, AB
June 22, 7:30pm
@ Trinity Lutheran Church, part of Edmonton Summer Solstice Festival
TORONTO, ON
July 6, 2025
Music Garden, free outdoor concert by Lake Ontario
BRUNO-BRIDGE DUO with Yolanda Bruno, violin
GATINEAU, QC
July 10, 2025
Festival l’Art de la Musique
10th Anniversary Gala Concert
CHICAGO, IL
July 19, 2025
Accordionists & Teachers’ Guild Int. presents: Bridge & Wolak
Armerding Hall, Wheaton College, Lisle, IL
STRATFORD, ON
July 26, 2025
Stratford Summer Music presents Michael Bridge accompanying a vintage silent film on digital accordion.
MONTMAGNY, QC
August 29, 2025
Carrefour Mondiale de l’accordéon presents: Bridge & Wolak
MILWAUKEE, WI
September 13, 2025
TANGORIUM, world premiere of Bridge & Wolak with Water Street Dance Milwaukee
DETROIT LAKES, MN
September 18, 2025
TANGORIUM, Bridge & Wolak with Water Street Dance Milwaukee
